Is It Still a Booty Call If It's a Demon
by SetsuntaMew
Summary: When the smoke curls into a decidedly demon looking shape, Judal almost thinks this might have been a bad idea. [a modern au with a touch of magic]


this was supposed to be a drabble. seriously. Jam asked for juhaku + insomnia and then this completely got away from XD I had tons of fun with it though! I hope you all love it too~

special thanks to dragonofeternal for helping me write the ritual spells, and to orsaverba for the fantastic title ;D

* * *

Judal stares at his ceiling in frustration. He can't sleep, which isn't exactly a new experience for him, but he doesn't have to like it. After staring for awhile longer, he gives up on sleep and resigns himself to another boring night.

He rolls over and grabs his laptop. At least the internet won't betray him. The harsh light of its screen nearly blinds him in the dark, and he squints against the glare. Once his eyes adjust, he glances at the countless tabs of nonsense he left open in his browser.

Huh.

What was he doing with this? Who knows! Not him, that's for sure. He picks up where he left off with one of them, scrolling on until the light and colors all blur together, and he can't focus on it anymore. He groans and tries to think of something more productive or entertaining.

"You know what would be fun?" he asks the empty room, and starts digging through Google for his newest whim. He's gonna summon a demon, or at least attempt to follow the steps until he laughs himself to sleep. Or gets bored again. Whatever comes first, really.

It's a treasure trove of ridiculous sites, bright red text on a black background and low-res images out of a goth kid's wet dreams. He's surprised the words don't drip blood.

Judal skims the first site he finds, taking in some of the information. "'Don't mess with this just to prove it doesn't exist' pff, sure," he says aloud, laughing. He's doing this for shits and giggles, and to waste some time. What could possibly go wrong? He gets a cool demon at his beck and call? Sign him the fuck up!

A list of ingredients calls for incense, and he's pretty sure he's got some stashed...somewhere. And a sigil of a demon? Easy, he can just draw on some paper from his broken printer.

A quick dig through his desk turns up a bag of incense sticks but no burner, so he props it up with a pile of dirty plates. He should really take those to the kitchen while he's thinking about it, but now he's using them. So. Later.

He looks over another site and finds a whole section warning him about finishing the ritual by sending the demon back. Fuck that! If he summons a demon he's keeping him forever. What's wrong with these people? Weenies!

Whatever, their loss. He's gonna be the only guy with a badass demon around.

Judal pauses to try to think of an offering. A demon doesn't work for free, obviously. One site suggested knowledge or a promise of fame, but he's not sure what he knows that would actually appeal to a demon. They're probably not interested in random facts about his favorite anime…

Someone else suggested a simple favor or loyalty to their name, but that's not something _he_ would do. Plus, what kind of cool shit is he gonna get for a small favor? Probably nothing good.

Isn't a soul what people are supposed to be offering up? That sounds so much cooler.

Well. That's assuming it works at all. It probably won't, and now he's getting his hopes up from some shitty internet demon summoning ritual.

Anyway, no use stressing about it now. Judal takes his incense to the kitchen to light it off the stove, and then goes about setting up everything else as the smoke fills the room with a pleasant scent. He picks a random sigil from a list and then uses a pencil to carefully copy it to a sheet of paper.

Shit. He has a glittery blue pen sitting on his desk, but he can't find any others. He debates spending some time looking for another before saying fuck it and moving on.

If the demon doesn't like his sparkly sigil, then that's its own damn problem.

Judal goes for the time efficient route of copying and pasting large portions of the ritual to the sticky notes on his laptop. He's not memorizing all of it, and he sure as shit isn't gonna waste his time writing it out on paper.

He looks over his work and grins, satisfied. Looks good enough! He sits cross-legged on his bed, laptop open next to him and the sigil sitting directly in front of him. The incense smoke curls around the room, almost giving it a more mystical feeling, and Judal mouths some of the summoning ritual to practice.

Eh. He's got it close enough.

Judal sucks in a breath and begins, speaking clearing into his room:

 _"I call upon the powers of the four chief elements. I invoke the power of the four chief directions. I call upon you, whose sigil I have conjured, to appear before me. I invoke the powers of hell and the might of your own demonic countenance to manifest here and bless me with your power. In Satan's name I pray or whatever I guess."_

The lights in Judal's room flicker on the last word, but nothing else happens. Everything feels normal and he sighs. Shockingly, the random shit ritual he cobbled together from the internet didn't work.

And then the incense smoke swirls into a thicker shape, something humanoid, and the room is plunged into darkness, save for the glow from his laptop.

"Holy fuck."

He can see the outline of someone else in his room, but it doesn't look quite human, and he almost thinks this might have been a bad idea.

Judal turns his laptop around to shed some light on the stranger, and he sucks in a breath. Horns curled tightly against his head, two eyes on his forehead besides the 'normal' two, and long black claws fading up his arms. Shit. He's stunning to look at, beautifully dangerous, and Judal as to force himself to stop staring.

So he grins, shutting his computer and hopping off his bed all in one motion, and goes to greet his demon.

"Hey, I'm Judal," he says, all smiles, and takes some glee in the demon's mild confusion. The lights have finally come back on, and he's enjoying seeing him in his full glory.

"I am Hakuryuu, Prince of Loyalty and Conviction, a vassal of Zagan's court, and I wish to know why you have summoned me."

He's so stern it's almost comical. Or maybe that's the sleep deprivation talking. Judal barrels ahead regardless, excitedly explaining.

"I wanted to see if I could," he answers honestly, and the befuddled look on Hakuryuu's face is priceless. Judal laughs. "And maybe get something out of it, now that I know magic and shit like that is real. You guys can grant, like, ultimate magical power or something, right?"

Hakuryuu blinks, and Judal watches the eyes on his forehead remain open. Weird. "Yes, of course that is a possibility, though it all depends on what you are offering. Gifts of large magical power come at a high cost."

"Cool, cool, I bet I've got that covered. Souls are the traditional schtick, huh? I'd be willing to part with mine for something like that."

Hakuryuu moves closer, considering him, his eyes flicking to look Judal over, and he feels uncomfortably exposed.

"You want ultimate magical power for your soul." It isn't a question, and Judal shivers a little. "That is a fair trade."

Judal holds up a hand, cutting the demon off. "A little more. You can't collect until I die, you can't just kill me off or plot my death, and- oh, right! I want some company, and you're pretty nice to look at."

"Excuse me?" Hakuryuu looks taken aback.

"You heard me! Stick around, hang out with me, etcetera etcetera. I've never met a demon before. It sounds fun."

"It is not fun."

"Nah, it'll be great! What do you say, one awesome human soul for some power and friendship?"

Hakuryuu observes Judal again, and the silence stretches as the minutes tick by. Judal rocks back and forth on his heels, impatient and a little anxious.

"Judal, I have considered your offer, and I have decided to accept it," Hakuryuu finally says, and Judal can feel the power behind the words.

"Good! Good. Yeah, uh, that's great…" he trails off. "So now what?"

"You must seal the deal and complete the ritual. Do you not know how?"

Judal scrambles back across his bed to reopen his laptop and find the notes for this part. He honestly hadn't expected to get this far. "Ah- ha, there it is!"

Hakuryuu looks more than a bit put out. "I cannot believe you did not properly study the rituals before attempting a summoning. This is barbaric."

Judal just waves a hand. "Whatever, let me just get this done."

 _"Our pact is sealed, Prince Hakuryuu of the Legions of Zagan. My soul for your power and companionship. By the powers invoked to summon you, so too do I bind you here in service to me."_

And then there's a swell of energy in the room, almost oppressively so, and with the air pulsing around them, Hakuryuu digs claws into his arms, shoving magic and power into him, and Judal barely registers the burning on the back of his neck.

Everything feels off, slightly but not quite wrong, and Judal holds onto Hakuryuu's arm to steady himself. His neck is still sore, his arms _ache_ , but the world feels like so much _more_ now.

"So. Uh," he begins, checking himself over. At least Hakuryuu's claws didn't actually leave marks on his arms. "That's it?"

"Yes," Hakuryuu answers. "You have access to vast magical power, once you discover how to use it properly. And you are marked so that no other demon can attempt to forge a deal with you."

"Is _that_ why my neck hurts? Asshole."

"It is standard for a demon to mark his-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, it's tradition," Judal cuts him off. He flexes a bit, and with some focus, he can feel the subtle flow of magic at his fingertips. "Fuckin sweet!"

"I am glad it is acceptable. However, you should attempt to learn some manners."

Judal yawns widely. "Whatever. Look, I'm finally tired, so I'm gonna hit the hay. We can go on a super magical best friends adventure after I get some sleep."

Hakuryuu gives him a strange look. "There is no hay in here."

He laughs. "It's just a saying. You know? For going to bed."

"You should take your gift of power more seriously, and focus on practicing with it."

"And I'm gonna! Tomorrow. Seriously, let a guy get some rest."

"As you wish."

Judal shoos Hakuryuu out of his room and crawls into bed. Tomorrow is the first day of his new life, but for now, finally, blissful sleep.


End file.
